T. M. Schleier

T.M. Schleier
Schleier's gallery in Knoxville (1869)
Born	(1832-04-20)April 20, 1832 Prussia
Died	December 13, 1908(1908-12-13) (aged 76) New York, New York, United States
Known for	Photography
Spouse(s)	Caroline E. Knaffl (m. 1862)

Theodore M. Schleier (April 20, 1832 – December 13, 1908) was a Prussian-born American photographer, inventor, and diplomat, active primarily in the southeastern United States in the latter half of the 19th century. While operating from a studio in Nashville, Tennessee, he helped document life in the city during the Civil War. He later moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, where he captured some of the city's earliest photographs. His inventions include an early artificial lighting system for photography studios.

Schleier was a delegate to the 1872 Republican National Convention, and served as U.S. Consul to Amsterdam from 1890 to 1893.

After immigrating to the United States from his native Prussia, Schleier initially settled in New York, where he presumably learned the burgeoning photography trade. By the late 1850s, he had moved to New Orleans, where he operated a studio on Chartres Street. In 1857, Schleier filed a complaint against rival New Orleans photographer James Andrews (1829–1863), stating that Andrews had busted open the door to his studio, ejected him from the studio with a fireplace poker, and destroyed his photographic equipment "with a view of preventing him from pursuing his regular business." In spite of this attack, Schleier had opened a new ambrotype studio on Camp Street by the Summer of 1857.

In 1859, Schleier moved to Nashville to work in the Southern Photographic Temple of Fine Arts, a studio and gallery on Deaderick Street operated by fellow Prussian immigrant Carl Giers (1828–1877). An ad for the studio described Schleier as "one of the best Photographers and practical Chemists in the country." By 1863, Schleier was running his own studio at the corner of Cherry and Union streets, in addition to the Giers location. This studio specialized in cartes de visite, and advertised to the soldiers of the Union forces occupying the city. In April 1862, Schleier married Catherine Knaffl, a daughter of prominent Austrian-born physician Rudolph Knaffl, who was serving as a surgeon in the Union Army.

Schleier opened a branch gallery in Knoxville, Tennessee, in early 1864. In 1867, he relocated to the city and established a large studio and gallery on Gay Street. This gallery opened to great fanfare in June 1867, with music provided by the Knoxville Brass Band, and ice cream and drinks served by prominent German-American baker Peter Kern. A popular figure in the city, Schleier swept the photography prizes at the city's Eastern Division Fair in October 1871, and won an award for "best comic mask" at a German-American masquerade ball in February 1872.